


like tiny stars (we were infinite)

by waywardaussies



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, M/M, Paper Towns AU, ashton is like margo and luke is like q, mikey and calum are briefly mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 02:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4418174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardaussies/pseuds/waywardaussies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>in which ashton wants an adventure and luke has trouble saying no to him</p>
            </blockquote>





	like tiny stars (we were infinite)

**Author's Note:**

> heres how this came to be.
> 
> i saw paper towns with my friend (who was crying cause she loves nat wolff.... but thats besides the point) and i just thought this was a cute thing so i did a little au based on the scene where quinten (idk how to spell his name) and margo are in the building and overlooking the town
> 
> this isn't really a spoiler since i changed it up ALOT. but the only thing thats the same is the image of the building with the big windows and ashton/margo climbing into luke's/quinten's room. other than that theres nothing similar. 
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy :) don't forget to leave comments/kudos and stuff :)

Goody-two-shoes. Nerd. Loser. 

Those are just a few of the names that people thought of when they thought of Luke Hemmings. The boy lived in a normal suburban house in a normal suburban town with normal parents and normal older bothers. Everything was normal, everything was the same. Nothing changed, and nothing exciting happened. Luke lived his life the same way he has been for the last 18 years. He’d go to school, get good grades, come home and do homework, ride around town on his bike with his friends Michael and Calum, then go home, have dinner, sleep, and repeat the next day. 

Nothing changed, nothing ever changed.

Until one night.

Luke was working on an essay for English Lit class, something about Shakespeare and how Romeo and Juliet should not be considered a love story, when there was a soft knock on his window. Luke looked up from his desk, eyes heavy from the strenuous work of staring at his computer screen for hours, when he saw a shadow of a person crouched down and looking straight into Luke’s room. 

Luke got up slowly, looking long and hard at the image of the hooded person, and made his way over to the window. When he opened it, the person jumped in and took off their hood, revealing eyes like bright amber and curly blonde hair, a bit matted and crazy from being under the hood.

Ashton Irwin.

It wouldn’t be a lie if Luke said he knew Ashton. He’s known him for a while—a few years maybe—ever since the older boy moved down the street. Ashton has this… aura about him that gives him a mysterious glow. He loves adventures, always hopping into his beat up Jeep and taking off, the rubber from the tires staining the pavement as his car shrinks on the horizon. They’ve talked a few times, polite conversation when their parents would invite each other for dinner or cake and coffee. 

Luke had learned that Ashton wanted to travel the world by the time he died, never wanting to miss a single town on the world map. He learned that Ashton loves koalas and kangaroos cause they are so native to their home country of Australia, no where else in the world can you find a wild kangaroo or koala. And for some reason, Ashton loved being unique. He loved being the only one to find the beauty in the world, as his family would be more realistic and rigid. Luke loved that about Ashton. 

Luke knew he was falling for the boy the minute he learned that Ashton wasn’t just a pretty face with a scattered brain. He actually was really smart. He thought about things critically, thinking about the clues and secret messages in things. He often wondered what life would be if something didn’t—or did—happen. He saw the world as how it should be, in color.

And although they’ve talked and been friendly to each other, that doesn’t mean Luke is any less confused as to why the man was standing in his bedroom, black hoodie on, at 10pm. 

“Ashton?” Luke asked cautiously. “Is… is everything ok?”

“Yeah.” Ashton said nonchalantly, shrugging slightly as he looked around Luke’s room for a moment. He then looked Luke dead in the eyes, a small wicked smile on his lips. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe cause you’re in my room, at night, in a hoodie… And you’re giving me this weird smile that I don’t like.” Luke watched as Ashton unzipped his hoodie and—fuck!—he wasn’t wearing a tee-shirt or anything underneath. Luke tore his eyes away from Ashton’s beautiful chest—tan skin that seemed to look tanner in the dim light of Luke’s room, the small puff of chest hair between his two pecks.

“Ok so,” He started, opening the hoodie and removing it, then he tied the sleeves around his waist. “I was thinking, ‘Damn, I haven’t gone on an adventure in a while!’ and it made me upset… sorta, yaknow?” Luke didn’t know, but he stayed silent so Ashton could continue. “And I also was thinking, ‘I haven’t seen Lukey in a while’…” Luke tried not to blush at the nickname… “So I was thinking, how bout we go on an adventure together?”

Luke just stared at Ashton, squinty eyes and cocked up eyebrow. Ashton countered Luke’s expression with a goofy grin, wiggling his eyebrows. Luke finally opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He closed his mouth and opened it several times before words finally decided to roll off his tongue. “You do realize, it’s 10 at night, I have school tomorrow, and everything is closed already.”

“Not everything is closed.” Ashton argued, the grin never leaving his face. “Come on Luke! I’ve got a friend working in security and he can let us into all the stores in the mall! We can try clothes on and dance around and eat the food in the food court and do whatever we want!”

“I don’t know Ash…” Luke said nervously, thumb nail in his mouth as he chewed at it. “We can get in trouble…”

“Please Lukey!” This time, Ashton pouted his lower lip and folded his hands, begging Luke like a small dog would for a treat. Luke held his ground for a long time—10 seconds—then sighed.

“Fine, let’s go.” Luke groaned, but felt himself instantly grow happier when Ashton’s arms wrapped around Luke’s slender body.

“Yay! We’re going to have fun, just you wait and see!”

~*~

Ashton’s definition of fun and Luke’s definition of fun were too completely different.

What Ashton considered fun made Luke’s heart race and breathing grow rapid as they run through the streets of Sydney, being chased by the man who Ashton didn’t want to get caught by. Luke felt his airways tighten as they turn the last corner, but luckily that’s when Ashton decided that they can slow down, going to a jog as Luke caught up behind him. Luke doubled over to catch his breath, hands shaking and gripping his knees tightly, beads of sweat pouring down his forehead, and adrenaline kicking through his veins. 

“See, that wasn’t so bad, right?” Ashton said after he let out a loud laugh—Luke thought it was hysteria, Ashton seemed to just think he was having fun. Luke looked up at the other man with wide eyes. 

“Wasn’t… So… Bad?!” He gasped between breaths. 

After leaving Luke’s house, the boys went to the mall and walked around, peaking through the glass into the stores and laying on the ground in the center of the mall, looking up to where the third floor’s ceiling is. They sat, talked, laughed, danced. They acted like children, running around the empty mall and trying to tag each other as they made twists and turns around ever pole and corner. 

It wasn’t until Ashton’s friend texted him that they had to get out, that they realized they were in the mall for hours. The phone screen gave light to the dimly lit hall, and displayed the time “12:35am”. They were walking out from where they came, when someone from the corner of the block noticed them exiting the closed mall and yelled. “Hey! What do you kids think you’re doing?!”

“Run!” Ashton shouted at Luke before taking off like a jet, Luke running right behind him. 

“Ok, so you’re a little more unfit than I thought… Oh well!” Ashton shrugged, turning to walk a bit more down the street. “Luckily, we’re here already.”

Here, meant a giant building with glass windows going straight up to the top. The night sky gave it a dark and metallic look as the stars reflected off the glass. Luke tilted his head all the way back, making sure he could see every bit of the building in front of him. He soon realized he looked ridiculous, head straining back and mouth open as his eyes took in the marvelous sight in front of him. 

“This is my friend’s office building.” Ashton spoke after a second of silence, gentle like the wind whipping by. “Known him since high school. He works for a law firm, always doing filing work and shit. He sometimes gives me the ok to come up and see the view. Sometimes, bring a friend.” Ashton said the last part looking right at Luke, but Luke didn’t see. His eyes were focused on the room at the tiptop; that must be the room with the view. 

“Come on,” Ashton said. “Let’s go take a look.” Luke finally turned to face Ashton, who was walking ahead of him towards the steps of the building.

“Ash…” Luke called out. Ashton turned around, and Luke nearly lost his breath. Ashton’s eyes were reflecting the light from the streetlights, bright hazel eyes staring straight into Luke’s blue ones, and for a moment, Luke felt safe. The warm glow of Ashton’s aura giving Luke the confidence to shake his head slightly and walking forward, catching up to Ashton on the steps and giving him a soft smile. 

They walked into the elevator, Ashton pressed the 13th floor button and the elevator started up, taking them to the desired floor. Once the doors slid opened, Luke's eyes went straight for the windows. They extended from the ceiling to the floor, not a single spot uncovered by glass. When Luke got closer, he saw the buildings below, lights glowing all over, flickering in and out. So many colors and lights. It was beautiful.

“You know what I love most about this?” Ashton whispered, eyes fixated on the outside world. Luke turned to face Ashton, not even caring that Ashton isn’t even looking back at him. “Everything looks so fake and still. But, you can see every little piece of the puzzle pieced together into something that is as beautiful as this. It’s like a collage. Like a huge collage made up of many pictures that tell a small story within each one."

Luke took those words into consideration, turning back to look out the window and trying to see what Ashton saw. He tried to see small pictures placed together to make one big collage of beauty. He couldn’t though. 

“I feel like I’m not good enough to be considered a collage.” Ashton’s voice was weak, so small that Luke nearly felt his heart break. “I’m not beautiful enough for people to see each little part of me, they just see me as one picture. One solid picture, that lacks depth and personality.”

Luke didn’t believe a word Ashton was saying. He shook his head softly. “That’s not true.”

“Yeah right,” Ashton let out a laugh, but this wasn’t a laugh Luke liked. It was empty and soulless, sad on all levels of the meaning. “Please. Who’d ever find me beautiful? Like, entirely beautiful.”

“Me.”

Luke’s own voice shocked him, feeling the need to take it back and forget he ever said anything. But that’s not how life works. You speak, it’s forever floating in the space between you and someone else. Ashton’s eyes widened, not sure if Luke was speaking the truth or not. 

“Huh?” This is the first time Luke has ever seen Ashton at a lost for words. 

“You’re beautiful, Ashton. You have a beautiful mind and a beautiful face and a beautiful personality. Everything about you is beautiful.” Luke took a step forward towards Ashton, the space between them getting shorter and shorter. “You make everyone around you feel adventurous. You’re the one that gives people depth, Ash. You aren’t a picture, you’re the artist. A beautiful artist that sees the world as this ever growing beauty that deserves love and exploration. You are truly and wholly beautiful.”

Ashton was speechless, body stiff and unmoving. Luke felt like he shouldn’t have said anything, and wanted nothing more than to sink into a hole and die. Luke felt his guilt bubble up inside of him, overspilling out of his mouth. “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just stayed quiet and not confess my weird, most-likely unrequited feelings for you. God I’m a fucking moron! Why do I have to say stupid shit?!”

As Luke rambled, Ashton took a step closer, a small smile growing on his face. Luke rambled on and on, but once Ashton’s hand lifted and gently caressed Luke’s cheek, Luke silenced. The air around them thinned out and Luke felt light-headed as Ashton’s hand traveled from his cheek to the back of his neck. Luke’s fingertips went numb when Ashton’s other hand reached for Luke’s hand, his long fingers intertwining themselves into Luke’s. Eyes locked and time stopped, Ashton’s face moved closer and Luke could feel the other man’s breath on his face.

Lips touched and Luke’s mind was shooting off fireworks immediately. He chased after Ashton’s lips, wanted to touch them more, longer. He wanted them to piece together like a puzzle, wanted to feel Ashton’s body against his. Confidence pierced through Luke’s body as he closed the distance more, lips clashing together as their eyes closed from pure joy and bliss. It wasn’t until a little while that the boys moved their lips against each other, loving how they connected instantly, molding together into one being. 

They release each other, grins taking up both of their faces. The lights from the buildings below seemed to blur as the light in Ashton’s eyes shone brighter. Luke couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips, crinkles forming in the corners of his eyes as he looks at Ashton.

“What’s so funny?” Ashton asked, a teasing tone lacing his voice.

“Nothing just…” Luke let out another laugh. “I’ve been thinking about doing that ever since I’ve met you.”

Ashton giggled, looking down at his feet as a blush coated his cheeks. “I’ve always wanted you to do that.”

“Guess I should have done that sooner then.” Luke said, watching as Ashton’s eyes twinkled with joy.

“You think!” Ashton leaned in again and kissed Luke’s lips, longer and sweeter this time. The lights outside poured into the room, scattered, starry lights reflecting off the boys’ skin and clothes. They were engulfed in the beauty of the collage outside, the single pictures piecing together, making up one giant collage.

One beautiful, breath-taking collage, which Ashton and Luke seemed to be part of. Or, at least, they were in that moment.


End file.
